Twenty preschool children and their mothers were observed interacting verbally in an unstructured situation. Close mutual adaptation of both partners was demonstrated. Correlational patterns allowed the abstraction of primitive and advanced clusters of language-teaching/learning behaviors. (JMB)

This study compared the smiling behavior of 76 infants during a regular day to their smiling during a brief elicitation by the mother and investigated the extent to which a mother is able to intentionally elicit smiling or vocalization. (Author/JMB)

It was concluded that both social and vocal elements are necessary to stimulate a general increase in the number and length of consonant utterances, but there was no evidence that stimulation encouraged infants to imitate the consonant phonemes presented. (Author)